Factor income for agriculture rises 14% to €70 million

Income from the market value of agriculture, plus subsidies received increased by 14% to €70 million this year, net of production costs and losses.

Statistics released by the NSO registered the main contributor to this increase as a drop in intermediate consumption.

In 2009, entrepreneurial income (+15%) absorbed 93.7% of the total factor income. Dependence on subsidies fell by 2.3 percentage points, from 31% in 2008 to 28.7% in 2009.

A €2.9 million decline (-2.1%) in the market value of gross agricultural production was registered in 2009. Characterising this result were declines of 6.5% and 2.3% in the market value of animal and crop products respectively. On the other hand, the value of livestock products rose by 0.6%.

Total intermediate consumption, which indicates the value of operational costs, decreased by 13.1% to €69.7 million in 2009. This was due to a drop in the costs of animal feeding stuff.

Total subsidies absorbed by the industry in 2009 amounted to €20.1 million, an increase of 5.6% from €19 million in 2008. Subsidies not directly linked with production rose by €5.6 million in 2009.

On the other hand, subsidies on production declined by €4.5 million, mainly due to lower amounts received in respect of livestock production.